On January 27, 1987, President Ronald Reagan delivered his sixth State of the Union address, calling for cuts in domestic spending, an increase in the defense budget, and an assurance of no tax increases. But before he delivered the speech to Congress, he prepared a radio address to the nation, to be delivered several days before his annual State of the Union Address. Inspired by FDR’s Fireside Chats, Ronald Reagan felt there was an intimacy to radio which could not be replicated. And this intimacy provided an opportunity to touch the American people in a completely unique way. So, on January 24, 1987,  in this informative address, the President gave the American people a little history on the State of the Union tradition.